How many times have you eaten out at a restaurant and found the edge of serving plates garnished with a flower pattern of veggie, a fan shape of fruit slices, and even a cute rabbit of quail egg, a heart of cherry tomato surrounding the food? Wouldn't those garnishes make your dining experience more pleasant and enjoyable? I have a couple of quick easy garnishes to share, hoping they would add excitement to your family banquet, casual brunch with friends, or just dinner for one. If you want to get fancy with the designs, then a book about garnishing would be more practical.

Tomato or Apple Rose

Starting at the stem end cut round an apple or a tomato and keep the peel unbroken. Make the strip of apple or tomato skin narrower and narrower while you continue cutting.

Start curling the skin at the narrow end towards the wide end. Turn upside down, adjust the roll if necessary to resemble a flower and set on a serving plate.

Tomato Heart and Rabbit

Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle slice off 1/3 of a cherry tomato. Place the 2/3-part, cutting side down, on a cutting board. Slice it into even two halves and put them together to form a heart.

Slice 1/4 of a cherry tomato horizontally with a sharp knife. To make a little rabbit ear, we need to cut a V-notch with scissors at either side of this horizontal slice. Put the cutting side of the 3/4-part as a base, and cut a slit on the top to fit in the rabbit ear.

Carrot Flower and Cucumber Loop

Peel carrot and place on cutting board. Cut off ends and discard. Cut out a thin, shallow lengthwise wedge from side of carrot. Lift out wedge with tip of knife. Give carrot a quarter turn and cut out another wedge. Repeat, turning and cutting two more times. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Sprinkle chopped olives or caviar onto center of each carrot flower. Use a thin strips of green onion for stems and garnish as you like.

Slice the cucumber open lengthwise and cut unpeeled cucumbers at angle into lengths about 3 inches long. Cut 5 thin slices along the length, leaving slices connected at one end. Curl the second and fourth slices towards the base to form an open loop.

Oh how cute it all is! Way better than my silly clam! I have a garnish book, but never pull it out! My mom used to make whales out of watermelons and things out of cucumbers as I was growing up, so I know first hand at how cute and fun it can be!

As always, any thoughts, comments, and suggestions that you may have are welcome and greatly appreciated. Please remember to use the "Name/Url" when commenting rather than linking to your profile page for more exposure!